Chapter 138
Translator: uly
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: Noodle Tour (3)
"I bought you a meal. Now stop following me."
The Heavenly Demon turned away curtly after leaving the restaurant.
Nameless had asked the girl multiple times about her home, her parents, where she lived, but she kept her mouth firmly shut.
With no other choice, Nameless had hacked into missing persons reports and various institutional databases to search for records or information on the girl, but nothing came up.
[Is she really a newly born goblin?]
As Nameless muttered weakly, the girl rubbed her eyes with both hands.
"I'm sleepy."
Nameless checked the time and saw that the clock had already passed 10 PM.
[Heavenly Demon. It's late at night, so...]
"Absolutely not."
When the Heavenly Demon rejected it outright, Nameless spoke in a regretful tone.
[Heavenly Demon. Are you really going to leave a child who was just born out on the streets?]
"Don't they have shelters or something here? Contact one of those."
Surprisingly, the Heavenly Demon gave a plausible answer, as if quite adapted to this world.
But regrettably, he knew little about yokai.
[Yokai are still unfamiliar entities to humans.]
Nameless pointed to the girl rubbing her eyes.
[Besides, this girl is that rare goblin. If people spot those horns, they'll cause a huge fuss. She might even get captured by the Association for vivisection.]
"That's got nothing to do with me."
As the Heavenly Demon pulled the car keys from his butt bag and turned to leave,
"So... sleepy."
The girl, rubbing her eyes, grabbed the Heavenly Demon's thick hand.
That hand was tiny, as if it might shatter, and cold as ice.
Even for a yokai, enduring the chilly night breeze in ragged clothes would leave her body freezing.
"Ugh."
The Heavenly Demon groaned at the sight of the girl clinging to his hand, and Nameless seized the opportunity.
[Heavenly Demon. The night air is cold. It might be best to head home first.]
The rooftop room was quiet with the lights off.
The Heavenly Demon sat cross-legged in the center, meditating.
The girl lay fast asleep on a huge pile of blankets, still in her filthy clothes.
"......"
Slowly opening his eyes, he saw the girl's sleeping face.
It was a pure face untouched by the world's dust. But the Heavenly Demon's gaze held no emotion as he looked at her.
[Heavenly Demon.]
At that moment, Nameless, who had risen from the charging station, spoke cautiously.
[Thank you for indulging all my stubborn requests today.]
Nameless knew.
Even if lightning struck the girl's head, the Heavenly Demon wouldn't bat an eye.
But for some reason, today he had granted all of Nameless's insistent demands.
"Hmph."
The Heavenly Demon just snorted lowly.
Nameless had spent the entire night searching restaurants and scouring for driving routes he might enjoy.
He had slotted in scenic spots and beautiful views as rest stops to ensure not a moment of boredom.
Knowing the effort Nameless had put in, exhausting its battery all night, the Heavenly Demon had decided to humor it for one day.
[Tomorrow, as soon as we go to work, we can ask Jang Chaewon for help and sort this out.]
"Got it. Go to sleep."
[Understood.]
Nameless lay down contentedly in the charging station.
Curling up in the Ramas, it recalled the Heavenly Demon's face as he happily drove along the quiet road.
* * *
"W-What?"
Jang Chaewon, who had arrived at work in a good mood, nearly dropped her coffee.
The store was the same as always, and the Heavenly Demon was mopping the floor.
But Jang Chaewon's gaze was fixed not on him, but beside him.
The reception table.
There sat a skinny girl with messy hair and grubby cotton clothes, hugging the round Nameless.
"Heavenly Demon... you brought a daughter here too?"
"She's not my daughter."
"Then who is she? A relative?"
"What relative."
"She kinda looks like you for some reason. Doesn't she?"
Her expression was rigid, devoid of any emotion, her eyes cool and arrogant somewhere.
It was unmistakably a spitting image of the Heavenly Demon.
"Hi?"
Jang Chaewon bent down in front of the girl and smiled brightly.
"I'm Jang Chaewon, sis. What's your name?"
The girl stared blankly at Jang Chaewon's face, then lowered her gaze.
Nameless, nestled in the girl's arms, blinked and answered instead.
[She seems to be a goblin.]
"A goblin?"
Nameless extended its limbs and climbed onto the girl's shoulder, brushing back her hair.
[See, horns like this right here.]
"Blue horns..."
Jang Chaewon furrowed her brows.
"Goblin horns are red. And they're not that small either."
[But she used perfect invisibility on par with an S-rank stealth skill. I had to activate sonic detection and radar simultaneously to barely make out her form.]
"What are you talking about?"
[Oh, well...]
Nameless explained everything that had happened with the girl the night before.
Jang Chaewon, who had listened silently to it all, stared intently into the girl's clear, transparent eyes like a lake.
"Horns and the ability to turn invisible... huh."
After pondering for a moment, Jang Chaewon opened the door to the inner room and whistled sharply.
"Sparrow! Come here for a sec."
In that instant, a whooshing wind sound rang out, and a white shadow perched on Jang Chaewon's shoulder.
It was the Iron-Eater, said to be the strongest divine beast, and her pet, Sparrow.
"Sparrow, you hate goblins, right?"
-Cheep! (No need to ask twice, nyang.) Cheep cheep! (Guys who turn tasty iron into useless gold lumps, nyang.)
"Then can you tell if that kid is a goblin or not?"
When Jang Chaewon pointed to the girl, Sparrow blinked for a moment.
Whoosh.
Suddenly, Sparrow turned into a streak of white light and wrapped around the girl's neck with its white body.
"Sparrow, what are you...?"
"It tickles."
As Sparrow coiled around her neck, a slight smile crept onto the girl's stiff lips.
That smile was so innocent it seemed to brighten the dim store in an instant.
-Cheeep wooong cheep! (Not a goblin. Smells super super good, nyang!)
"Is that so?"
Hearing Sparrow's cry, the Heavenly Demon nodded vigorously.
"See, she is a goblin after all."
-Cheep cheep... (You seriously need to clean your ears, nyang.)
"No, she's not. Would Sparrow rub up like that if she were a goblin?"
Shaking her head, Jang Chaewon looked at the girl.
"She is pretty strange. Or maybe she lost her memories?"
"What do you mean?"
Jang Chaewon peered closely into the girl's eyes and shook her head.
"They're empty. Her eyes."
"What do you mean."
"They're filled only with instinct and purity. Like a yokai that was born just recently."
The Heavenly Demon narrowed his eyes.
"You can tell that too, shopkeeper?"
"Well, for now."
Only then did the Heavenly Demon recall something he'd momentarily forgotten. That Jang Chaewon was no ordinary human, but a very peculiar existence.
Nameless, who had been listening silently, spoke cautiously.
[Whether yokai or human, this little lady seems to think Heavenly Demon is the same kind as her.]
"Me? The Heavenly Demon? Why?"
[Just a feeling.]
Jang Chaewon blinked and looked at the Heavenly Demon.
His looks were rough... no, pretty fierce, but the Heavenly Demon was undeniably human.
So why did this girl think the gruff Heavenly Demon was one of her own?
"It is a headache."
As Jang Chaewon rubbed her forehead, the Heavenly Demon said flatly.
"What's there to headache about? She's clearly not human, so just send her to a place that takes in yokai."
"It's not that simple."
Jang Chaewon gazed at the girl's horns glowing blue.
"The yokai side will definitely say she's not a yokai. But with those horns stuck right on her forehead, she can't be handed to humans either."
[Horns too, and invisibility skill. She looks yokai no matter how you slice it.]
At Nameless's mutter, Jang Chaewon said with a firm expression.
"What determines a yokai isn't appearance or abilities—it's pure, intact yokai blood. In other words, without pure yokai power, no matter how much she looks the part or has mystical powers, she won't be recognized as a yokai."
The Heavenly Demon, listening silently, stroked his chin.
"So appearance and abilities aren't criteria for identifying yokai."
"Right. She must have pure yokai bloodline unconditionally."
Hearing Jang Chaewon, the Heavenly Demon stared at the sitting girl.
Her eyes were as clear and transparent as a lake reflecting an autumn sky.
Without the horns, she'd be indistinguishable from a pretty human girl.
"She manifests skills like humans, but isn't human. She has the form of a yokai with horns on her forehead, but isn't yokai."
Summarizing Jang Chaewon's words at once, the Heavenly Demon blinked.
"So this kid belongs nowhere—a mysterious existence."
"Yep. At least from what I see."
As Jang Chaewon nodded, the Heavenly Demon's eyes flashed.
"Then what do you do in cases like this?"
"Hmm. You definitely can't just dump her at a facility..."
Pondering, Jang Chaewon spoke again.
"I can't judge offhand, but maybe find a prejudice-free philanthropist among the yokai?"
Ding-a-ling.
At that moment, the door opened, and a kindly-faced old man shuffled into the store.
The yokai god who could divine human fortunes, the Two-Faced Ghost.
"Manager Jang, you in?"
"Elder!"
Jang Chaewon beamed at the Two-Faced Ghost.
She'd just been sitting there, and a prejudice-free philanthropist appeared.
"First, let's hear the full story."
Having heard everything from Jang Chaewon, the Two-Faced Ghost.
He closed his eyes and placed a finger on the girl's forehead.
After holding it there for a long time, the Two-Faced Ghost suddenly jolted back, pulling his finger away.
"Eek!"
His face paling, he backed away and bowed politely.
"S-Such rudeness..."
"Huh?"
As Jang Chaewon blinked in surprise, the Two-Faced Ghost approached cautiously and whispered.
"Manager Jang. Come here a sec."
The Two-Faced Ghost huddled with Jang Chaewon deep in the storeroom for a while.
Soon after, he burst out of the storeroom and dashed outside. Jang Chaewon followed slowly, a bright smile on her face.
"Oh! Come to think of it, no work today, and the store's super quiet?" Smiling radiantly as she approached, she drew close to the Heavenly Demon and whispered.
"Go home early. And go eat noodles."
"What are you talking about."
Frowning at him, Jang Chaewon pursed her lips and ventriloquized.
"The noodle tour, remember? You promised Nameless next week. Do it today instead. It's slow."
"What sudden nonsense."
"Special vacation. Nothing to do today, so go."
Jang Chaewon pointed politely to the girl sitting primly at the reception table.
"Take that lady along too."
The Heavenly Demon looked down at Jang Chaewon with deep concern.
"Shopkeeper. You feeling ill?"
It was rare concern from the Heavenly Demon, but Jang Chaewon's face twisted.
"Shut up and just go."
Gritting her teeth in a whisper, she shoved a card into his hand.
"Don't worry about money. Here."
The Heavenly Demon stared blankly at the card from Jang Chaewon.
He didn't know why, but he wasn't one to refuse sudden vacation and meal money.
Ding-a-ling.
Then the Two-Faced Ghost, who had run out, came panting back and set down a paper bag on the floor.
"Here, nothing much, but I got some shoes and decent clothes."
"I'll handle it."
Jang Chaewon pulled out cute sandals from the bag and slipped them on the girl's feet, then led her to the storeroom.
The girl emerged wearing a large hooded dress with a hood.
The Heavenly Demon stood dumbfounded, wondering what sorcery this was.
"All set. Now head out."
"What on earth. You're seriously telling me to go eat noodles right now."
"Yeah. Not thrilled, but. Our store's part of the territory anyway."
Urging him on with a firm expression, Jang Chaewon said.
"Treat her kindly. Like any store customer. We'll talk later."
* * *
[Alright, with Heavenly Demon's sudden special vacation, Noodle Tour Part 2 starts today!]
Nameless, perched on the dashboard of the Heavenly Demon's beloved ride, Ramas, spoke into the air mic.
[And today we have a special guest. Little lady. Welcome.]
Nameless waved at the girl blankly sitting in the passenger seat, then said to the Heavenly Demon.
[Heavenly Demon. Give her a round of applause!]
"If you're gonna keep babbling nonsense, I'm going home."
Nameless switched to a stiff navigator voice.
[Commencing guidance. Turn right in three hundred meters.]
"Going... to eat noodles?"
Then the girl in the passenger seat spoke.
Her face was hidden under the flipped hood, but her voice sounded much brighter than before.
"Yes."
The Heavenly Demon gripping the wheel answered flatly, and the girl murmured softly again.
"Good..."
That voice brimmed with anticipation, like a child awaiting a gift.
Gazing indifferently at the lane markers beyond the window, the Heavenly Demon unconsciously floored the accelerator.